[Evidence that the ILWU/PMA Pension has always been inter-related with
the Welfare Benefits for those retirees receiving that pension and their
dependents.]

In 1974 a federal law, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA),
required an easily understood outline of each Benefit Plan (called a Summary
Plan Description or SPD) to be distributed to the people it covered (called
plan participants).

The SPD must be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the
average plan participant, and sufficiently accurate and comprehensive to
reasonably apprise such participants and beneficiaries of their rights
and obligations under the plan”

The PMA (and some of the ILWU leadership) wants you to believe that
pensioners never had “lifetime” benefits. The PMA took the words
“for their life-time” out of the part of the PMA Annual Report which describes
our benefits. Then without the knowledge of the ILWU Trustees, it was removed
from the most recent editions of both the Pension and Welfare Summary Plan
Descriptions.

PMA had no right to remove any language from those SPDs without consulting
the ILWU trustees. Many of us set out to demonstrate just why so
many of us, pensioners and actives alike, have regarded medical care as
a “lifetime” benefit, and why we still think this is a lifetime benefit
despite the recent efforts of our Employers, joined by some of the ILWU
leadership, to convince us that this was never so.

Everything done within the ILWU should begin and end with you, the rank
& file. So many of the actions leading up to the present situation
have been done in secret, behind our backs, that we must play "catch up"
just to begin to inform ourselves about things we should have known all
along. Efforts to do something about the matter, or to at least find out
something about this issue have included the following:

The International Executive Board in December 1996 voted unanimously
(except for the titled officers) to instruct the titled officers to get
that missing language back.

The 1997 Longshore Caucus in Honolulu instructed the Trustees (including
McWilliams) to secure replacement of the missing "lifetime" SPD language.

After (and in spite of) these facts, International President McWilliams
has refused to research this is information, or to even look at it and
has also refused to attend the ongoing IEB sub-committee meetings on this
matter except for the very first one, where he announced that HE would
not going to pay for any outside legal opinions.

The following index, starts at the beginning of ILWU-PMA medical coverage.
It is comprised of information that several of us, using limited
resources (limited sometimes by Coast and International officers) have
been able to locate. It has been passed on to the IEB sub-committee.

This information is made available to you by people who believe that
we have been led into many preventable disasters by those in the habit
of keeping such information from us as they make decisions effecting our
lives and those of our families, ALL
information about YOUR UNION should be available to you.

DATE/DOCUMENT

June-December 1948-1948There was no mention of medical or welfare benefits, in the (brown
covered) Agreement 1951 Pacific Coast Longshore Agreement (PCLA)
which was agreed to after a 100-day strike and an 80-day Taft-Hartley injunction.

December 1949Agreement First medical benefits, to begin in 1950 (Employer’s cost
3 cents per hour) For active members (there were no pensioners)

Page 82 Amendment of Plan, Termination of Agreement, and Review. Section
11 Item a. The life of this Supplementary Agreement was 10 years, July
1, 1961, it was to be fully reviewed each 10 years after that. Item
c. The Plan, but not the amount of contributions, per assessment ton shall
be subject to annual review July 1, of each year of its existence. The
next such review will be June 30, 1961

March 3, 1951 The Dispatcher Page-6, caption "What’s Welfare?"
Q.What if I retire during the year without having made the full hours?
A. If you are eligible...you will be covered completely for
the rest of your life for hospital-medical-surgical benefits...

Jan. 2,1952 The Dispatcher Page.7, caption "What’s Welfare, Medical
Coverage for Retired Men"
Q. If I have previously been eligible for Welfare benefits, and retire
on the ILWU-PMA Pension, is there any change in my benefits for medical
care?
A. No. Your benefits for medical care are the same as when you were
active in the industry.

March 28, 1952 The Dispatcher Page-6, caption "Pension
and Welfare"Q. "What happens to my Welfare benefits when I retire?"
A."Your hospital-medical-surgical coverage for you and your family
continue for the rest of your life."

May 9, 1952 The Dispatcher Page-4, caption "The Pension Plan"
Q. "Does a retired man continue to be covered under the Welfare Plan?"
A. "Yes he and his family remain permanently as long as he
lives"

June 6, 1952 The Dispatcher Page-7, caption "Retired Dockers
get Welfare" "All the ILWU Longshoremen, Ships clerks, and Walking Bosses
who retire under the ILWU-PMA Pension Plan will be covered for
Welfare benefits as well as receive their Pension checks"

July 4, 1952 The Dispatcher Page-1, caption "1125 Dockers
Retire to draw $100 a month plus...lifetime health care for themselves
and their dependents."

Page-2, caption “"Hail but no fair well" “"Then consider, also
the fact that two other benefits are included we have not been able to
find duplicated in any other Plan, those are life insurance and lifetime
health care for life for the pensioner and his dependents"

Page-4-5, caption "Pensions on the Waterfront" Sign in a picture with
several new Pensioners reads:
"$100 a month, plus Social Security, plus Health Care for
Life, plus Life Insurance". Also page-5, "Unique also
in this Plan is that in addition to getting $100 a month plus Social Security
Longshoremen and ship Clerks will receive Medical Care for the
rest of their Lives and life insurance without cost. So far
as it is known that is not matched by any other plan anywhere in the country"

July 18, 1952 The Dispatcher Page-1, caption “"Old-timers Feted
Up and Down the Coast"
"Everywhere it was learned that the old-timers agree their Pension
Plan is just about the best there is in America. Their $100 monthly checks
are in addition to their $60 to $80 a month Social Security. Also
they get health care for life for themselves and their dependents,"

August 8, 1952 The Dispatcher Page-7, "Caucus offers ‘Bill of
Rights’ to Retiring Longshoremen"
"Eleven hundred and seventy three old-timers of the Pacific Coast retire
on July 1, on Pensions of $100 a month, plus Social Security plus
health care for life for themselves and their dependents,"

March 27, 1953 The Dispatcher Page-7, caption "The Pension Plan"
Q." When negotiations for the new Labor Agreement take place in 1954
will those negotiations have any relationship or any effect on the Pension
Contract?
A. Negotiations for the new Coast-wise Longshore Contract in 1954 will
have nothing whatsoever to do with the Pension Contract. The Pension
Contract is signed and sealed for a ten year period, from July 1, 1951
through June 30, 1961."

Sept. 4, 1953 1953 PCLA outlined
The Dispatcher Page 6, "The $100 a month pension, exclusive of social
security, is not the only benefit that goes along with retirement.
The pensioners also receive paid-up life insurance without cost
to themselves and guaranteed health care for life, including care for their
dependents."

Page 11, Bridges article "ILWU Pensioners Only Ones To Get
Welfare Free"
Between 1953-1959 there were no bound edition of the PCLA, in part
due to a series short contracts. The members continue to rely on negotiation
results printed in the The Dispatcher.

This practice would continue even when bound editions were published.
Often the only way to review the new agreements, the only way to address
contract issues on a coastwise basis, was through The Dispatcher. Articles
telling the membership about their “life-time” coverage follow beginning
with the early 60s and the M&M Agreement.

The Dispatcher 12 page fold out "Information and Union Comment
on the MECHANIZATION and MODERNIZATION Fund Agreement" called The Summary
On The M&M Agreement.

Page 2 I The Agreement "$100 a month over social security, and
full health care for themselves and their dependents,"

Page 4 II "Those gains were part of the over-all union approach
to mechanization and reduced work opportunity"

Page 5 III Benefits "The men’s share in cost savings results from
the use of machines will finance the early retirement and vesting benefits.
Eliminating of make-work practices adds enough more to finance the floor
under earning"

Page 6-7 ,Early Retirement ... ", plus substantially complete
prepaid medical and hospital coverage for the men and their families."
"pension plan, .$320 per month (plus lifetime medical and hospital coverage)"
Vesting... "The 25 year man is eligible for the regular disability pension
irrespective of age, and to medical and hospital coverage."
Union Comment "The guarantees and benefits will out-weigh the conditions
given up by the workers"

Page 12 Item # 7 "full pre-paid, non contributory medical coverage
for the individual and dependents during early as well as regular retirement"

June 11, 1965 The Dispatcher Page-4, caption "Hike is Six Cent; $165
for retired"
"An outstanding achievement was the negotiation of a widows pension
for life, this amendment will provide one half of the husbands benefits
to the widow... will also receive welfare for life"

June 12, 1966 The Dispatcher Page1, "The Pension
Agreement will continue to 1976 no matter what changes are negotiated
when the Longshore Agreement expires in 1971."

June 18, 1970 The Dispatcher Pages 1 and 2," Widows For Life.
An outstanding achievement was negotiated of a widow’s pension
for life. This pension amendment provides one half of the husband’s
benefits to widows and will extend welfare benefits for pensioners’
widows as long as they receive ILWU-PMA pension benefits."

Page 11, On The Beam, by Harry Bridges "some pensioners are going
to get a bit more to live on, and some widows will be getting greater security,
and paid medical care for life."

August 24, 1971 Arbitration Welfare continued during Strike.
Sam Kagel, Decision:
1. "It is hereby ordered that the moneys in the fund shall be used
and expand-ed for the purpose of paying the required premiums to provide
the benefits agreed to in the Fund, such payments to be effective as of
July 1, 1971."

Feb. 15,1972 Caucus Minutes Harry Bridges to delegates Page
4, lines 15-20
"there is no other Pension Contract industry wide where after
the pensioners get pensioned, their medical bills are paid for life for
themselves and their families! That a fact! That
a fact! and now we add dental care and prescription drugs.
Not another deal like it in the United States of America!"

July 8, 1977 The Dispatcher (Page 1, caption “Big hike in 3rd
year of Dock Pact)
"Lifetime Welfare Plan Coverage for all Pensioners and Widows continues
and includes Hospital-Medical coverage..."

1977 Bridges retires. Negotiated pension three times between
‘51 and ‘76

1992 PMA Annual Report published early 93 (Page 38)
"Welfare Plan benefit coverage eligibility is maintained for
the tenure of the current Agreement between the parties."This is the first
time the PMA has terminated the "for their
life-time" language

1993 The decision (of which there is no record) is made, and
the "lifetime" wording is removed from the Welfare SPD, which is published
without it for the first time.

August 1995 The last remaining lifetime language is removed.
The Pension SPDIs published without any mention of it.

1996 Alaska trustees notice the removal of the language.

Sept. 9, 1996 Dispatcher fold out
THE NEW CONTRACT FACT SHEET,Item # 10 McWilliams and the CC reported,
"the Plan owes the pensioners and widows more than 1.5 Billion"

September 30 1996 Memo to Coast Committee Secretary
President McWilliams writes a set of rules preventing any member of
the Coast Committee from using Union staff for "any research projects that
are not routine" and prevents any "distribution of information by fax,
mail, messenger or other means" unless the project is okayed by another
member of the Coast Committee or, if there are no other CC members around,
unless approved by the Office Manager or the Coast Committee Administrative
Assistant (the office staff)

October 4, 1996 Minutes Alaska Trustees
Mtg.Item #13 The first written statement that ILWU
Longshore workers (working under the Coast Agreements) had lost the lifetime
language is made when the Alaskan trustees inquire after their efforts
to arbitrate the issue had been thwarted by Coast Committeeman Ramiskey.
He prevented them from reaching the deadlock needed to bring the matter
to arbitration, by voting to table the issue, with the Employer trustees,
against the Union trustees.

McWilliams signed a "Letter of Understanding" with Miniace because ILWU-PMA
he believed welfare benefits are from contract to contract, despite the
fact that the original Benefit Plan was a 10 year agreement not connected
to the PCLCD and has not been negotiated by the rank & file through
caucus action.

In amazement those of us that remember Harry’s far-reaching vision on
pensions and welfare, wonder how anyone could be elected to the highest
office in the ILWU and could not remember the biggest social gains this
union or any union ever made.

Recent efforts to replace SPD language have been made from, Alaska (John
Bukoskey), to LA(Louisa Gratz), and Richard “Ole” Olson, who was locked
out of the Coast Committee offices after hours and afterwards, put on administrative
leave, soon after he made this SPD change known to the ranks. Since then
every major ILWU local, and many pensioners, have made ongoing efforts
to urge McWilliams in the right direction. Still Brian McWilliams
will not bend, in fact he refuses to attend the IEB sub-committee meetings
on getting the language replaced in the SPD Booklet.

The PMA’s efforts to keep the "lifetime" language out of the SPD booklet
is an attempt to relieve themselves of their future Welfare liability
to retirees, a huge financial responsibility by any standards. Once
again our employers are way ahead of us, having already changed the SPD
language to reduce their long term responsibility which could increase
dramatically when the new federal law is enacted.

Upon close examination of existing legislation it appears to some of
us that the PMA has evaded it’s vesting responsibility for years, and years,
since 1974 when ERISA went into effect.

Apart from the obvious cost savings to the actual welfare obligations,
PMA seeks to escape pending federal law now being restructured around Medicare.
Upon it’s passage, employers would be made fully accountable for their
long term financial obligations to pension and welfare cost. PMA
made this escape attempt not at the bargaining table, but through the back
door. The new leader of the PMA’s strategy for the future is a nationally
known “Union Buster” from the East Coast, Joe Miniace, with an extensive
background in the Health Care Industry, primarily in the destruction of
unions that make up that industry.

It should be clear just why Miniace was hired. Just look at what the
PMA is attempting to do to medical coverage for our pensioners. These
unilateral changes in the SPD, could mean the loss of billions of dollars
for everyone, active members and pensioners alike.

Just four words have been unilaterally removed from our SPD Welfare
Plan, "for their life-time". Brian McWilliams has agreed
with the PMA several times on this matter.First in a "Letter of Understanding" Nov. 18, 1996; next in
a letter to the pensioners on Dec. 2, 1996; then in ‘The Dispatcher’ Dec.
8, 1996.

Just as ILWU-PMA "Letters of Understanding" have been sent to the Pension
Benefits Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), which is a joint application of withdrawal.
The PMA would relieve themselves of future Pension liabilities, so have
they done with SPD language, getting rid of it’s medical liabilities.
PMA is preparing to get rid of the ILWU, wake up Brian McWilliams you are
doing the job for them.

The following is an index to follow
those attempts by the above mentioned people: